Those who adhere to orthodox Christianity have, for the past 2,000 years, affirmed and upheld the Biblical representation of Jesus as the unique and only Son of God (while simultaneously acknowledging His humanity), and the sole Redeemer of mankind. Particularly in the last two centuries, these orthodox Biblical views of Jesus’ identity have been attacked and criticized. According to disciples of post-modern philosophy, we can never know absolute truths, nor understand the culture of others, let alone the true meaning of the literature of cultures that differ from our own.

Consequently, so goes this post-modern theory, each individual is free to read into the objective Biblical portrayal of Jesus whatever subjective likeness he or she chooses. Interestingly, and rather disturbingly, New Agers, mystical types, as well as these intellectual trend-setters, are particularly fond of using this approach.

These days, it seems as if many critics do not dismiss orthodox Christianity outright as was common practice in the past, (e.g., to claim that Jesus never existed). Alternatively, other critics dismissed Christianity forthright on the grounds that modern man, by way of science, cannot be expected to believe the supernatural events reported in the Bible-- they cannot be scientifically feasible, so that, they say, the Bible is to be taken as myth and not fact.

Critics are now content, in the name of post-modernism and higher criticism, to create Jesus in their own image by keeping the portions of the Bible they find acceptable, tossing out the rest, or by distorting Scripture to fit their academic opinions and peculiar religious leanings.

Jesus in An Age of Controversy is a comprehensive, thorough work, in which author Douglas Groothuis describes, explains, and refutes the innumerable, false outlooks of Jesus that have been created by diverse groups, ones which consist of the “higher critics” and liberal scholars of the Jesus Seminar, proponents of Gnosticism, goddess worshippers, angel worshippers, and New Agers, among others. Their literature is examined and shown to be lacking in merit, accuracy, truthfulness, or divine inspiration. The number of pseudo-Christian, New Age, cultic, or other non-Biblical books utilized by non-Christians to defend their beliefs that are mentioned in Jesus in An Age of Controversy are too many to list here. It is safe to say that Groothuis leaves no rock unturned, from which all the yucky, creepy, false New Age and liberal academia “research” and “literary sources” scurry, because they cannot withstand the light of truth or the scrutiny.

A partial list of the many books discussed, of which the claims, teachings, and contents of each are debunked by Groothuis include: The Lost Years, Jesus Lived in India, The Five Gospels, The Gospel of St. Thomas, The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, Going Within, A Course in Miracles, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Care of the Soul, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success,the Nag Hammadi, and The Life of Saint Issa.

Because liberal scholars and skeptics alike question the veracity, accuracy, and reliability of the Bible, especially the New Testament accounts of Jesus, two chapters in Jesus in An Age of Controversy, chapter 3 and the appendix, are devoted to the trustworthiness of the Bible, an explanation of the New Testament canon formation, and a solid foundation for the reliability of the New Testament authors’ depiction of Jesus as God and Savior.

For those of you, who like me, become confused or bored when reading most authors’ explanations of the Bible’s history (its transmission, the role of the manuscripts in translations, etc.), I am happy to report that Groothuis does this in a very easy-to-understand manner, and one which will not put you to sleep.

After reading through the multitude of non-Christian descriptions of Jesus, His teachings, and His actions, all of which are delineated in Groothuis’ work, I am left pondering: what did Jesus do with all those frequent flyer miles He must have racked up? What do I mean by this, you ask? Groothuis, our capable tour guide, leads us through the bizarre, downright ridiculous and laughable Non-Christian land of beliefs, of which the following is a sample:

New Agers, and others who dabble in cultic circles or quasi-spiritual arenas, have placed Jesus just about everywhere one could imagine, with India usually being the favored locale. They assert that Jesus spent His so-called “lost years,” (the ages of 13 to 29) in areas outside Palestine, where He became a sort of mystical, Hindu, Buddhist, swami-guru-sage before returning to His homeland, ancient Israel.

Ah, the profound, deep, mystical implications of it all: as a world-traveling, frequent flyer, would Jesus be upset with the American government’s recent ruling that airlines are no longer permitted to distribute peanuts to passengers?

Some members of the Jesus Seminar, and other scholars, maintain that Jesus remained in Palestine His entire life, but that He either rejected Judaism to become a revolutionary leader of a counterculture, or else, they say, the area in which He was raised, Nazareth, was so “Hellenized” that for all means and purposes, He was more Greek than Jew. At any rate, both views are used to strip Jesus of His Jewish identity and His claim of divinity. Our author not only exposes and dispels the fallacies and falsehoods of these positions, but in chapters 13 through 16, he presents us with a positive case which supports the objective, Biblical truth that the “historical” and “real” Jesus of Nazareth is, and has always been, even before the creation of the world, Jesus: the One and Only Christ.

Related New Age/mystical topics, such as Reincarnation, Near Death Experiences, “esoteric Christianity,” and channeling also receive attention in this book. And let's not forget: everyone loves a conspiracy theory. Groothuis, as well as other Christian writers, has pointed out the odd-ball, wack-o tendency by some mystic-loving skeptics to insist that Jesus' "real" identity, in a secretive, under-handed collusion by the early Christians, has been purposely hidden. These same conspiracy buffs charge that certain writings have been suppressed by the Church (e.g., the Gnostic Gospels) in order to "conceal the truth" about Jesus. According to this crowd, then, orthodox Christians have been dupes and suckers, too stupid to figure this out, for around 1,900 to 1,500 years now. Groothuis shows why even X-Files F.B.I. Special Agent Fox Mulder wouldn't give this flimsy case the time of day.

This is a concise, powerful book - and quite handy, at that.